Rack for bottle-cleaning machines.



A. HANNAFORD.

RACK FOR BOTTLE CLEANING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1912.

Patented. Mar. 11, 1913.

2 BHEETS-SEEET 1.

w gm A CCC A. EANNAFORD.

BACK FOR BOTTLE CLEANING MACHENE3.

APPLICATION TILED AUG. 3, 1912,

latented 35211. H, 1913.

2 BHEETS-BKEET 2.

Pllllllllllll I l l 1 I l i l V I l a (I rates.

ALFRED HANNAFORD, 0E CHICAGO. ILLINOIS.

RACK FGR BOTTLE-CLEANING- MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 1313.

Application filed August 3, 1912. Serial No. 713,072.

To all whom it'- may comic/'11:

I Be it known ti I, Armani) Hannarono, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Racks for Bottle-Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in racks for bottle-cleaning machines of the type shown and described in United States Letters Patent- Eo. 920,564, granted to Sigmund L. Goldman liiiay st, 1909, in which the raclcbody is provided with a hinge door containing a row of bottle-neck openings and adaptedto be automatically closed =t'ter filling the rack with bottles, for retaining them while the rack is passing through the machine, and opened by camaction to permit the bottles to discharge after being cleaned.

The object of niy in'iproveinent is to simplify operation of the door to adapt it to open by gravity, by locking it, after the rack has bee tilled with bottles to be cleaned, through the medium of a bar longitudinally siiiftable in one direction for that purpose, and the opposite direction for unlocking the door to permitit to open for the discharge of the cleansed bottles; the shifting; means being canis in the paths of the opposite ends of the bar. and ineanssbeing provided in the path of the open door for closing it automatically prior to locking it after the filling operation.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows the rack with its door open and provided with my improvement, by a broken view in elevation, the view presenting in a diagrammatic way. stationary cams in the paths of the opposite ent of the locking bar for shitting it successively in opposite directions; Fig. a broken view or" the rack presenting its mouth; Fig. 3. shows the rack by an end View. and Fimli shows a v broken -sectitu'i of the tank carrying a spring-cushioned device in the path of the open door for closingit: Fig. 4 shows the device of Fig. 3 by a plan view, but with the spring-adjusting means omitted; Fig. 5 is a broken perspective view of one of the two similar ends or heads of the rack; Fig. 6 is a similar view of one o1 the two similar heads provided on opposite ends of the door to cooperate with the locking-bar, and Fig. 7 is a broken perspective View of one of the two similar" ends of the bar provided with a recess for the door-unlooking purpose.

The rack 8 shown is of substantially the same construction as to its body-portion, except as to a certain feature hereinafter pointed out, as that illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent "No. 1,012,843, granted December 26, 1911; to Sigmund L. Goldman. It comprises perforate sides 9, end-heads 10 having reinforced ears 11 projectin from their outer faces to be united to endless chains,one of which is indicated at 12 in Fig. 3, forming the vertically traveling conveyor in the tank 12 of the machine, and perforate partitions 13 extending at intervals between the sides to form bottle-pockets. The additional feature referred to is a Ushapedstrip Ll extending along one edge of each partition 13 to narrow the pockets for relatively small bottles, which will fit between these strips, while larger bottles will bear against the edges presented by the strips.- Further more the bottom of the rack-body is shown tohe formed by tii'o parallel anglebars 15 (Fig. 3) spaced apart and connecting the heads 10.

Each of two opposite corners of the heads 10 is formed with an outwardly-projecting journal-bearing 16 and a guide-loop 17 ad jacent thereto; and in these loops is sup ported near, its ends a locking-bar 18, adapted to be shifted lengthwise in its bearings 17 to the extent permissible by stops 19, 19 on its outer face near each end, to abut against the inner faces of the bearings. Adjacent to each stop 19, in the opposite face of the locking-bar. is formed a recess 20 for the door-unlocking purpose hereinafter explained.

The door or gate-21 is a plate provided in one edge with a series of U-shaped recesses 22 for permitting protrusion through them of the necks of bottles in the rack-pockets; and a reinforcing angle-bar 23 extends along the back of the plateat the bases of the recesses or openings.

On each end 10 of the rack-body is rigidly fastened a head 24 (Fig. 6) of angular shape. provided with an inwardly-project inp; trunnion to work in a hearing 16, and with a stop-forniing shoe so to enter a hanrecess 20 for unlocking the door.

in use, the rack is one of a series of racks extending, at proper intervals, between conveyor-forming chains in a tank 12 and to which the racks are fastened by riveting through their ears 11. Following, now, one racirthrough the tank: As represented in Fig. 1, the rack has attained the filling side of the machine with the door 21 open, the position of the bar 18, with its right-hand stop 19 abutting against the adjacent loop 1'2, being that of registering the, unlocking recesses 20 with the shoes 26. When the rack has been filled with bottles, in its continued downward movement on the filling side of the machine, the door is first closed. and then looked. For closing it, a suitable device, such as that illustrated in Fig. 3 is provided. This device comprises an angleiron support 27 riveted to a Wall of the tank 12 and carrying a bracket 28, to opposite sides of which are fulcrumed between their ends similar arms 29, 29, each having a se ries of ratchet-teeth 30 on one end and a downwardly-inclined extension 31 at its opposite end, these extensions being spaced apart by an interposed blool; at 32 and by an anti-friction roller at 0n the upper edges of the arms-seats a finger. 34, being fastened by a bolt 35 passing between the arms. A red 36 carrying a V-shaped nut 37 lock the door against opening on its upper threaded end is hung by the nut in corresponding teeth of the ratchets 30, and isi-surrounded by a coiled spring 38 confined'hetween a head 39 on its lower end and the horizontal. member of the angle her 27. By settin the nut in the ratchets' 30 tart-her toward their outerends, the lever of the spring against the arms 29 may be increased; In the downward movement of the filled rack, the outer edge of the open door encounters the finger 34 which raises and partially closes it, the spring 38 cushioning the encounter to avoid jar and the roller 33 completing the closure gently, by engaging the angle-liar In the continued downward travel of the rack a cam 4:0 projecting from the tank-Wall into t e path of an end of the bar 18, shifts the latter lengthwise to remove its recesses 20 out of registration with the shoes 26, which thus abut against the bar causing the latter to on its hinges. The rack, in its continued travel, attains the discharging side of the machine, wherein it moves upwardly; and just prior to reaching the point for discharging the cleaned bottles, the end. of the bar 18 opposite that en countered by the cam it), encounters another cam 41 in its path in the tank, and is thereby shifted longitudinally to register the recesses 20 With, the stop-shoes 26, thus 11nloclongi the door and permitting it to he the discharge, While the melt is continuing its, upward movement 11] the tank, the, dooris,

free to close by gravity; but when the rack hegins again to travel downwardly on the opposite or filling side, the door will then open by gravity to prepare the raclr for filling, whereupon the door will. encounter the closing device in its path, and the closing and locking actions heretofore described Will be repeated.

I realize that considerable possible in the details of construction thus specifically shown and described and it do not intend by illustrating a singie, specific onpreferred embodiment of my invention to he limitedthereto; my intention being in the following claims to claim protection upon all the novelty there maybe in my invention as broadly as the'state the art will permit,

What I claim as by Letters Patent is-- 1. In combination with a hottle sclr body, a door hinged thereto end provided with a stop, and a locking-liar provided with a revari ation is.

new and desire to secure cess for said stop end supported in hesrings ends, a locking-liar provided "with a recess g and supported in the hearings to he shifted lengthwise in opposite directions to more said recess into and out of registr Lion with said stop for unlocking end locking the door, and stops on "said her for limiting its movements.

3. In combination, a bottle-rack loody pro vided on its opposite ends with journal-been ings and guide-hearings, a door having endheads provided with trunnions working in the journal-hearings to hinge the door in place, stops on the ends of the door, and a locking-bar provided with recesses'an'd sup ported in said guidehearings to be shifted lengthwise in opposite directions to move.

said recesses into and out oi registration with said stops for unlocking and locking the door.

4. In combination with a hottiorach. hody, journal-hearings and guidobeerings on o posite endsof said hod a door havingone-- heads provided with trunnions Working in the journal-hearings to hinge the door in place, stop-shoes on said. heads, a loclti? hat 'n'ovided with recesses and so ported in said guide-hearir to be shifted wise in opposite'directions to into and out oi? .ith shoes lfttl 1,055,@e2 I v for unlocking and locking the door, and between the ends of said body, and U-shaped stops on said bar coiiperating with said reducing strips extending in said bo dyalong guidebem'ings to limit the movements of I the edges ofsaid partitiens.

said bar. 1 ALFRED HANNAFORD.

5. In a botfle-1'uek, a rack-body having In presence 0fpartitions extending at intervals between J. G. ANDERsON,

the sides to form a series ofbottlepockets R. A. SCHAEFER. 

